How You Get The Girl
by what a feeling
Summary: Things aren't the greatest, and Piper's got some advice. Song fic. One shot. Percabeth


**A/N: (Edit) Shout out to catspats31 for pointing out how I can't use the actual lyrics. Thank you so much, also I've pulled it off. Hope you have a good one x**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own the PJO/HoO series or anything else that you may recognize. It's a song fic based off Taylor Swift's song with the same name.**

Percy can't believe he's actually here. Really, a part of him wants to slap himself, because he _cannot_ believe he's sitting here _voluntarily_. He eyes Piper wearily as she smirks at him, almost gleefully.

"So, Percy." She crosses her legs in her chair, leaning back comfortable. Percy leans forward, leaning his elbows on the table, because he knows this is a stupid idea but he didn't know who else to speak to, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let himself go through this without getting something out of it, just because he couldn't _hear_ what she says. "Is there something you need?"

Percy wants to growl- She knows exactly what he needs, she's been pestering him to let her help for the last six months (That's a really long time)- and no amount of 'innocent' eyelash batting will be able to hide the triumphant dance her eyes are doing. He scowls at her.

"You know exactly what." He snaps, and she looks too smug for his liking, so he lets out a sigh. "I need help with Annabeth, okay?" Piper beams at him, clapping her hands together.

"Finally. Do you think you'd listen to me when I tell you you're in love with her now?"

Percy only scowls at her, because he thinks that if he says it out loud, everything becomes altogether too real, and he isn't sure he's prepared for any of it. Piper seems to be satisfied with his response, though, because she nods.

"Alright, Jackson. I'll show you how to do it." Percy blinks

"Do what?" He doesn't like how she seems to be glowing.

"How to get the girl."

oOo

He's never been to Portland, Oregon, but from what he can see of it on the cab ride from the airport to his hotel room, he knows exactly why she loves living here. It's so typically Annabeth- It's a change from the bustling streets of New York, with its pretty sidewalks and gorgeous cityscape. It's got a beautiful, somewhat dainty aura to it that he's started to associate with Annabeth, even if she can probably run a knife through someone without as much as a twitch.

It's just as wet and rainy as he's heard, but nothing could have prepared him for the strangely mesmerizing feeling of being here. It feels like he's come back home, even if he's never seen any of this before. The cab driver is friendly, and makes small talk with him that Percy decides that he doesn't actually hate.

He checks into his room, dumps his duffel and washes his face, examining his reflection for a moment, wondering if it's too late to back out, but Piper's almost definitely got a camera hidden in here somewhere, because his phone buzzes with a volley of messages.

 _You're almost broke_. The first one reads, and Percy knows it's true. He's a struggling musician, and the plane fare, added with the cost of the hotel he's staying at together nearly wipes out his bank balance, and it would take a couple of months of his job at Apple to start filling it up again. _You literally have nothing to lose_. Which, in reality, is also true. He doesn't have much to lose, except maybe his dignity, but that's riding at an all time low, anyway, so he thinks Piper is right.

 _She's ten minutes away from you_. Is her third text, and Percy needs to calm his racing heart.

 _You're a piece of shit if you don't do this_. He thinks Piper has a very strange way of motivating people, but he takes it because it's all he has. Besides, none of what she said is really wrong, so he decides to do it right now, while he's still riding the high from Piper's borderline motivational texts.

He stands in front of the door, staring at the gold plated _23_ that adorns the dark door. It's still raining lightly, but he's been looking at the door for the last thirty two minutes, trying to get himself to ring the bell. He's dripping from head to toe, and he finally convinces his muscles to hit the button.

It takes her less than a minute to open the door, and when she does, Percy's breath catches, because it's like she's gotten even more beautiful. She's wearing her black tights, and an old pullover with cats all over it, and her hair's tied up in a messy knot at the back of her head. She looks up at him through her large glasses for a moment before she blinks in recognition. Her eyes are the size of saucers when she speaks.

"Percy?"

"Yeah, hi, Annabeth." He says awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. He knows what he has to tell her- He's rehearsed it with Piper countless times, but he doesn't remember much apart from Annabeth's name. She smiles softly at him.

"You're dripping wet." She observes, and he nods.

"Been out a while."

"Without an umbrella? You're insane." She laughs, stepping aside and gesturing for him to step in. He's grateful that she's mature enough to let him step inside, because he's freezing. She leads him to the living room and disappears for a moment, returning with a towel, one of his old hoodies and a pair of shorts that definitely used to be his. He looks up at her, brows raised, and she shrugs, her cheeks tingeing pink.

"I like these shorts." She's quick to expain. He decides not to embarrass her- He's definitely not there with her yet. He changes into her- _His_ clothes fast enough, and pads into the kitchen to find her working over a pot of coffee.

"You cook?" He asks her a little playfully, because she'd refused to cook when they lived together. She stiffens a little and Percy immediately regrets it, but when she turns around to face him, her features are composed. She smiles at him, even if doesn't reach her eyes, and leans against the counter.

"Why are you here, Percy?" Her tone isn't rude, she just sounds upset- Like she was fine without him being there, and he feels his heart sink. He wants to apologize, tell her he's got the wrong house and leave and never look back, but he can't leave without her- Like Piper had pointed out, he has nothing to go back to.

"I missed you." He tells her honestly, and he can see her try to search his face. She sighs.

"I missed you too." She says softly, not meeting his eye, which Percy takes as a sign to go on.

"It's been a really long six months, Annabeth. Six months and four days- Yeah, I counted." He shrugs at her raised brows. "And I don't think- I can't go on like this. I haven't touched my guitar since, haven't listened to music, hung out with the guys. My boss gave me time off because he thinks I need to pay more attention to my mental well being, and-" His voice breaks. "Maybe he's right." He doesn't look at her when he admits it, because it isn't an easy truth to come to terms with. "I left you, and it's my fault," he goes on, eager to get off the topic, but he doesn't look up at her reaction to any of his words- He doesn't think he can. "I don't know what I'm here to ask you, but please. Don't say no." He thinks he's going to end up crying himself to sleep tonight.

"Why?" She asks, and it's barely above a whisper. He looks up to see her- She's got her hands over her face, eyes shining with doubt and sorrow and disappointment and everything Percy had once sworn to never let her feel. He takes a breath.

"I was afraid." He tells her. "To tell you what I was thinking, and it lead to everything slipping through, and I can't tell you how sorry I am."

He wants to go on, but his eye catches something in the light shining through the window of the kitchen- A little silver frame, and he forgets where he is as he walks over to look into it. He's a little surprised because it's a picture of _them_ , and he knows that she'd called it her favorite one, but he can't believe she's still got it, sitting on the little table in her kitchen.

His cousin, Thalia'd taken the picture a while ago, when he was getting a tattoo on the skin where his thumb met his wrist. He's no stranger to tattoos, but that one had been particularly painful, an intricately designed lightning bolt. It was one of his favorite tattoos, because, corny as it sounded, it was for Annabeth. He'd met her at a music festival, when he'd gone to watch Luke Castellan & The Titans, one of his favorite bands, even if they weren't too well known, until they'd split two years ago, and had literally walked into Annabeth in her floral dress sticking out in the throng of leather clad people. He'd started speaking with her, found that she was only here because she actually _knew_ Luke Castellan and was here to support him, and he'd known, as the band played Lightning Thief that the seventeen year old standing before him was the girl he was ready to sell his heart for. His tattoo was a way of acknowledging the precise moment he'd fallen irrevocably, head over heels in love with Annabeth.

She'd held his other hand, fingers interlaced with his as he grit hit teeth when the tattoo artist cut into his wrist, pressing a soft kiss on his cheek as he was getting it wrapped up in cling film, which was exactly when Thalia'd decided to capture the moment. The photograph showed Percy looking like he'd been offered immortality in the moment that her lips touched his cheek, and Annabeth was smiling against his skin, too, and the picture looked so _real_ , their emotions almost tangible.

He lets out a breath, running his fingers over the picture lightly before looking back up at Annabeth, who's regarding him with an unsure stare.

"We were good together." He nods to the picture, and she cracks a small, tight smile at him.

"We were." She agrees lightly, and he can tell she's bothered by the conversation, so he decides to keep talking. He takes a breath, because this is what he's flown all across the country for.

"Look, Annabeth, I just wanted to apologise-"

"It's fine." She cuts him off, not meeting his eye. She busies herself by cleaning the kitchen counter that's already spotless. "You had to leave, I still don't understand why, but I respect it. Would you like an umbrella? I don't want you catching a cold on the way back."

Percy gaped at her back for a while, almost politely declining and heading back into the rain. He looks down at her long legs, and wonders if she's lost some weight. She'd always been slim, but she had _great_ calves, that's for certain, and they definitely look skinny now. He wonders if maybe she's not as put together as she seems.

"I must've been crazy." He breathes, and then he wants to slap himself because he can't believe he said that out loud. Annabeth's head whips back to him, and she's looking at him incredulously, like he's just slapped her.

"Excuse me?" She asks slowly, and Percy runs his hand through his hair, because he's known Annabeth for seven years now, and he knows she's mad.

"I just, I mean, you know. You're everything I could have ever had, and I-" His voice falters because he's never said any of this out loud before. Not to his mom, not to Piper, not even to himself. "I fucked up, man." He shrugs. "I wish I'd just spoken to you, right?"

She nods stiffly at him. "Perce, you don't have to explain yourself." She says softly, and he shakes his head.

"No. I do." He insists. "That's why I'm here. I need to tell you- What an asshole I was and you have to see how much I regret and how incredibly sorry I am." He's aware of how fast he's talking, but he's sure Annabeth's following his words with no problems. "I had everything in the world with you, Annabeth. For six and a half years, you gave me life, and happiness, and-" His voice is quivering and he thinks that he'd be living his nightmare if he breaks down. "I just, with all the attention you got, I just, it's unhealthy, and, just-" He doesn't remember any words apart from just and he doesn't dare look up to meet her eyes. "I got so irrationally angry with all these guys at your firm who were _flirting_ with you and I wasn't being myself and I know I got really hard to be around and it's really stupid and I swear if you-"

"Percy." Her voice is just above a whisper, but she cuts him off effectively. "What went wrong? We were great for years, and then you just _left_ me, alone. With nothing."

"I'm so sorry." In three large steps he's inches away from her. He hesitates before cupping her face, tilting it slightly he can look at her, and he immediately regrets it. She's hurt and betrayed and nearly broken and it's so easy for him to read it off the way her lips are slightly parted and her eyes are shining. "I'm so fucking sorry, I don't know what came over me, and I miss you. Annabeth, you're my entire life, and without you, it's like-"

"You left me. Just the way you promised you wouldn't."

"I came back, though."

"How do I know you won't up and leave again?" Her voice breaks, and her cheeks heat up under his palm.

"You don't." Percy sighs, and he feels like he's drowning. "You have my word, though."

"Your word never meant anything last time around." Annabeth snaps, pushing him away, and, okay, Percy knows he deserves it, but he can't stop the annoyance that rose in his throat.

"Look, I made a mistake, I was an asshole, and I'm here to try to make things better. If you don't want that,-"

"Don't even try that, Jackson, because guess what? I'm here to tell you, yeah, you're an asshole and you did make a mistake and apologizing doesn't cut it anymore!" Her voice is raising steadily, as is Percy's frustration with her.

"Why don't you _listen_ to me? It's obvious you're still in love with me, what's the big deal?"

"Of course I'm in love with you!" Annabeth screeches, and it catches Percy off guard because it's rare that she lets herself get so mad that she loses control of herself. "How can I not be? You can't just waltz into my life, show me what it's like to have someone care and be there for me and then _run away_ when things get hard!"

Percy wants to yell at her, tell her he's trying, but she's got tears flowing down her face and he can feel his own eyes dampen at the sight. He knows how much it means to her, and he knows how terribly he's messed up. He feels like someone's pierced his heart with something blunt as a hammer because no kind of piercing is this painful (He knows- He's got one in each ear and one on his brow).

Annabeth backs slowly away from him with every small step he takes towards her, and he knows that now's his real chance. If he steps away, she'll fold in on herself and he's out for good. If he pushes, she might actually listen (But she also might now), but it's a risk he's got to take.

He takes one large stride and holds her gently but firmly in place by the arms. She leans away from him, but he looks into her eyes when he speaks.

"Stop running." He tells her. "I know what you're doing, and I'm not going to let you do that with me. You can block out your mom and your dad and Luke and everyone else who's ever hurt you, Annabeth, but I'm _not_ going to be one of them. I want you to stop trying to run away right _now_."

She flinches slightly, and Percy tries not to feel guilty about holding her in place. His grip was light, but he loosens it further so his hands are resting on her arms. He lets out a breath.

"Please don't shut me out of your life, Annabeth. Please." He begs, and she sniffs. She doesn't move for a while, and Percy's frantically trying to think of what to do, but slowly- Agonizingly slowly- she leans forward until she's nestled against him.

Percy lets out a long breath, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her as close as was physically possible. He breathes in the familiar lemony scent of her hair, and lets one tear fall onto the top of her head as he holds her against himself. She stands there for a while, he doesn't know how long, and then draws back, looking up at him.

"Thank you." She whispers, and he raises his brows.

"Me?"

"That's what I needed." She tells him softly. "To know that you're here for me, even if I'm batshit crazy." She lets out a humorless laugh, and Percy feels himself grin manically as he pulls her back against his chest, suddenly feeling cold at the loss of contact.

"Annabeth?" He asks after a while. She looks up at him, and her eyes aren't dancing with mirth, but they don't look like they caught a glimpse of hell anymore, and Percy thinks he can work with this. They might not be great, yet- They'd both had a rough few months- but they're not broken, and he thinks they'll be fine. They're only twenty five, anyway; they've got time. "Can I kiss you now?"

She leans up, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck, and her lips are moving against his smoothly. They're synchronized, because they've been doing this for years, and Percy can taste her strawberry Chapstick as her moth slants against his, and he feels like he's flying. He closes his eyes, cupping her face and kissing her back dreamily. He feels like he did when they were seventeen and he kissed her for the first time and she _kissed him back_ and he swears he's never been happier. He trails kisses down her jaw before going back to her lips, and it's familiar and home and Annabeth and he decides there's nothing in the world he needs if he's got this.

When he draws back, he smiles softly at her, and holds out his hand showing her his lightning tattoo. She traces it lightly, and he buries his face in her hair.

"Still feels like back then." He mumbles, and he can hear her laughing lightly.

oOo _  
_

Percy's tuxedo is really hot on a bright, sunny day. He fiddles with his tie until he catches his mother's eye in the front, and she's flashing him a playful glare, but the message is clear- To stop before she loses the playfulness. He smoothens the tie, and Grover, his best friend, laughs from behind him. He turns around to Grover, brows raised in question.

"Calm down, Perce. It's not really all that hot. This is New York." Percy glares at his best friend, but cracks a grin anyway.

"Whatever. I'm calm. Totally fine." There's a cool breeze that ruffles Percy's carefully styled hair, and he gives up, running a hand through his hair. He looks around at the guests, all speaking cheerily among themselves. He catches Piper's eye from somewhere in the third row, and she winks at him, signaling a thumbs up, and he beams at her. He sees Paul and his mom sitting in the front row and he doesn't think he's ever seen his mom look happier. Even his dad had taken the time off his busy schedule and was seated somewhere out the back with Percy's uncle, Thalia's dad. He can see Annabeth's brother, Malcolm, speaking lightly with Travis and Connor Stoll, and he spots Clarisse press a quick kiss against Chris' lips.

Just then the music starts and there's a hush over the entire venue, people sitting down and falling into a silence as the bridal march plays. Cara, who's Malcolm's six year old daughter, skips through first, spraying flower petals happily. She reaches the altar and gives Percy a quick hug before bouncing off to her mom. Silena and Juniper follow, and Percy sucks in a breath when Thalia comes in, because she's the maid of honor, meaning-

Percy can't breathe. He really, really can't breathe. He watches Dr. Chase walk his daughter down the aisle, and Percy needs a moment to drink in the fact that he's here, on the altar, and he's going to _marry_ this beautiful woman who's positively _glowing_ in her wedding gown. She beams at him as Dr. Chase presses a kiss to her cheek before taking is seat, and Percy realizes he hasn't taken a breath since he laid eyes on her. He tries to take in as much oxygen as he can without looking like he's choking, still unable to stop staring at Annabeth.

"Hi." She smiles.

"Hi." He breathes, interlacing his fingers through hers as the priest begins the ceremony. He doesn't listen to a word being spoken, because his fiancée-to-be-wife is standing before him in a white dress that trails behind her with just the right amount of silver embellishment around it. She's wearing a tiara to hold her veil in place, and it's got little sapphires on it, and he knows that his mom had worn it when she married Paul, and his dad, and it had been a Jackson family tradition. Annabeth stands a little taller- almost his height- and her smile doesn't falter through the entire ceremony.

"Do you have your oaths prepared?" The priest asks, snapping Percy out of his reverie, and he lets Annabeth go first. He regrets it later because it was short but still brought out a whole lot of emotion in him, making it hard for him to go on.

"Percy?" Signals his turn. He takes a breath before pulling out his vows.

"Things fall apart at some point of time." He reads slowly. "And that's a fact. Life isn't going to be perfect, and there's going to be times when you'll want to get as far away as possible. There's going to be good times and bad, and I just want you to know that I'll be there. I'll wait for you forever, if that's what you want, Annabeth." He looks up at her shyly. "I can't promise not to break anything- We both know how serious a promise is, and I don't want to let you down- but I can promise that I'll put it back together, no matter what." He doesn't say her heart because he doesn't want to revisit the dark days from three years ago.

"Do you, Percy Jackson, take Annabeth to be your lawfully wedded wife, for better or worse?"

Percy's still basking in the shine in Annabeth's eyes, knowing fully well that he's the one who put it there, so when he answers, his voice sounds far away. "I do."

"Do you, Annabeth Chase-"

"I do." Annabeth cuts him off, and before Percy knows what's happening, he stumbles back when Annabeth throws herself at him. He can't stop laughing into the kiss, and he can feel her chest move in laughter, too. He thinks he can hear their guests laughing, but he doesn't care.

She pulls away, giggling as she wraps her arms around his waist, and he kisses the top of her head.

He finds Piper smirking at him before opening her mouth, and Percy's already embarrassed by what she's going to say.

"And _that's_ how you got the girl."

oOo


End file.
